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9/10/2005

What is left of Federalism?

I was just listening to a CSPAN radio presentation of the Senate hearing this last week on aid to Hurricane Katrina victims. What struck me was how on every issue from education to health care, it was automatically assumed that the job was the Federal government's in helping out the victims. One of the things that I am worried about is that with the current debate, local and state governments may view themselves as having no incentive to bearing the costs of preparing for any disasters. It is interesting how someplace that does such a bad job as New Orleans, rather than creating a call for them to fix things, has created a massive movement to have the Federal government take over all the operations (even while Democrats and Republicans are claiming that the Federal government botched it).

Interview on NPR's Marketplace Radio to discuss Hurricane Relief

NPR's Marketplace interviewed me this morning for a segment that they ran on giving the victims of Hurricane Katrina a $2,000 debit card. The segment can be found here: "Refugees to get some plastic"

MARKETPLACE MORNING REPORT

SHOW: Marketplace Morning Report 7:50 AM EST SYND

September 8, 2005 Thursday

LENGTH: 274 words

HEADLINE: How to get aid money to hurricane victims

ANCHORS: SCOTT JAGOW

REPORTERS: STACEY VANEK-SMITH

BODY:

SCOTT JAGOW, anchor:

Getting the money to Katrina victims.

How to get aid money to hurricane victims MARKETPLACE MORNING REPORT Announcer: The MARKETPLACE MORNING REPORT is produced in association with theUniversity of Southern California.

JAGOW: From American Public Media in Los Angeles, I'm Scott Jagow.

Right now the emergency management agency FEMA is spending $2 billion a day on hurricane relief. That's well over a million dollars a minute. President Bush authorized another $52 billion yesterday to get through the coming month. The pace will slow down, but the government's already committed about the same amount of money it's spending in Iraq each year.

OK, so there's all this money. How will Katrina victims get their hands on some of it? One answer: Debit cards. Here's MARKETPLACE's Stacey Vanek-Smith.

STACEY VANEK-SMITH reporting:

After getting a lot of flak for what many called an inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA announced a novel plan: They will distribute ATM cards worth $2,000 in places like the Houston Astrodome. John Lott is with the American Enterprise Institute. He says the plan could work well because people know best what they need. But, he says, there is major potential for abuse, such as people pretending to be evacuees. Whatever happens, he says, it could be a valuable lesson in disaster response.

Mr. JOHN LOTT (American Enterprise Institute): We'll have a better idea of what people feel they need when they're in this situation or how poorly off people really are by seeing what they sign on.

VANEK-SMITH: Lott says the cards could allow the government to track how the money is spent. I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith for MARKETPLACE

Gun advice for New Orleans-type situations

A friend of mine, Don Kates, offers some advice on what is the best gun to own if you ever found yourself in a situation such as New Orleans:

GENERAL ANSWER: The answer to the questions you have posited may vary depending on specific circumstances (some discussed below), but there is a single general answer: the gun of choice is always a handgun because that is the one weapon you can keep w/ you at all times – and in doing so you are securing it from children and anyone else you do not deem trustworthy. The preference would be not to rely on only one variety; have a handgun w/ you and a shotgun and/or rifle as closely available as possible,

A shotgun or rifle in your bedroom (or anywhere else) is of limited utility if an attack comes when you are in some other part of your home. Likewise a shotgun or rifle may be difficult to bring into play in a car – especially if there is only you and you are driving your car. If you have multiple people in the vehicle a shotgun or rifle for each may be viable but even so may be much more difficult to bring into play. If you have a pick-up truck my off-hand recommendation would be for the driver and passenger to have handguns (w/ long guns stowed behind the seat or in a rack in the event you have time to deploy out of the vehicle) and long guns for anyone who is in the bed of the truck, though they all should also have a holstered handgun.

As to the species of handgun, I would recommend a high-capacity semi-auto in a caliber not less than .40 S&W or, at least 9mm. There are zillions of different brands on the market that are excellent and choosing between them is either a matter of personal taste or of expertise exceeding mine. My personal experience is most extensively with the Glock and Sig-Sauer 225 in 9mm. and Sigma in .40 S&W; all of which are fine.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: If you are attacked from 100 yards or more away (a highly unlikely scenario) you will need a rifle. I have much less experience w/ these but would recommend something like the Ruger Ranch Rifle or an H&K high cap semi-auto or other quality weapon in a caliber exceeding 223.

For stopping power at short range nothing beats a shotgun loaded w/ slugs or, at worst, large buckshot. But you would only select a shotgun in the very unusual situation in which you: (a) can predict the time you will be attacked so you can be sure to have the shotgun w/ you; and (b) can predict that the attack will come from a short enough range that a shotgun is effective.